Smith Hall

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• The  hall  is  named  after  Rear  Admiral  Edward  H.  “Iceberg”  Smith.  This  facility  was  built  for  the  study  of  physical  and  ocean  sciences.  Smith,  a  descendant  of  Martha’s  Vineyard  whalers,  was  respected  for  his  knowledge  of  oceanography  and  the  Arctic.  It  was  said  that  his  quest  for  knowledge  of  ice  behavior  was  unending  and  his  career  reflected  that  passion.  After  graduating  the  Academy,  Smith  worked  with  Professor  Henry  Bigelow  at  Harvard  University  analyzing  ice  patrol  data  and  running  experiments  on  ice  he  had  collected  during  his  Arctic  expeditions.  He  commanded  the  Marion  and  the  General  Greene  expeditions  in  1928  which  first  surveyed  iceberg-producing  glaciers  of  West  Greenland.  In  1931,  he  served  as  the  navigator  on  the  transpolar  flight  of  the  Graf  Zeppelin.  His  leadership  during  World  War  II  earned  him  the  Distinguished  Service  Medal.  The  Coast  Guard  later  sent  Smith  to  the  Institute  of  Geophysics  at  Bergen,  Norway.  Through  his  studies  and  publications,  he  was  later  awarded  a  Doctorate  in  Physical  Oceanography  by  Harvard  University.  After  he  retired  in  1950,  he  became  the  Director  of  Woods  Hole  Oceanographic  Institute.  Smith  Hall  has  expanded  over  the  years  and  now  contains  chemistry  and  physics  laboratories  and  classrooms.  This  building  is  restricted  to  authorized  personnel  only.

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